Blockchain News 05.06.2018

Coinbase expands to Japan

Coinbase has announced its plans to launch an office in Japan. In the announcement, Coinbase said they are working with the Japanese FSA to ensure legal compliance at every stage and once approved, plans to offer their products and services to people in Japan.

Welcomes Fintech Leader Nao Kitazawa

As part of our effort to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrency, today we’re announcing the launch of Coinbase’s office in Japan. Under the leadership of the highly-respected and admired fintech leader, Nao Kitazawa, our new office will lay the foundation for Japan’s crypto investors to access a range of Coinbase’s products. As in other markets, we plan to take a deliberate approach to our rollout in Japan, which means working hand-in-hand with the Japanese FSA to ensure compliance with local laws at every stage.

More people are opening cryptocurrency trading accounts in Brazil than traditional brokerage accounts.

A year ago, an exchange called Foxbit had roughly 100,000 registered users. Today, they have 400,000 registered users out of the estimated 1.4 million that have opened accounts with them and their three main competitors in less than two years’ time. Compare that to the roughly 600,000 who have stock brokerage accounts and it’s plain to see: Brazilians have discovered cryptocurrency. In 2016, Brazilians moved $160 million in and out of Bitcoin. Last year, it hit around $2.4 billion.

“For the guys who used to hide dollars under their mattresses, now they are hiding it in Bitcoin,” says Eduardo Ferreira, head of international business development for Foxbit in London. “It’s students buying it. It’s 60-year-old bus drivers,” he says.